When cooking with a Dutch oven or other cooking container that requires fuel to cover the lid, it is frequently necessary to remove the lid to monitor the cooking process without allowing the coals and ash to spill onto the cooking contents in the container.
Previous to this invention, many devices such as pliers, the claw of a hammer, garden implements, such as hoes, pitch forks, shovels, or their handles have been used to position and lift tops and lids from Dutch ovens. There have also been other devices developed for lifting lids off of pots which usually consist of a hook or other means for engaging the lid handle prior to removal. Specific tools for removing the lids of Dutch ovens include hooking devices and gripping devices. Some of these devices have extended handles which distance the user from the heating material on the lid. However, no device provides an adequate solution for stabilizing the lid while it is being removed from the pot. Some tools for lifting lids have utilized an added member, such as a peg, in proximity to the hook or grasping means, as an additional point of contact in order to stabilize the lid or cover as it is being lifted. These tools fail to limit the rotary lateral movement of the lid when it is raised, thereby allowing ashes to contaminate the food.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,071,182 and 5,183,304 describe a device for lifting Dutch oven lids which includes two elongated rods conjoined together, one rod being slidably adjustable in relation to the other. Both rods have handles for grasping by the user. The handles are attached or formed at the upper end of the rods. One rod has a stabilizing means formed at the lower end of the rod, opposite the handle, which contacts the lid of the Dutch oven during the removal process. The other rod has an arcuately shaped hook for engaging the handle of the lid, formed at the end of the rod opposite to the grasping means. The two rods are connected by means that permit the second rod to slide relative to the first thereby allowing the grasping means to engage the handle of the lid while the stabilizing means on the first rod is held in contact with the lid. This particular device requires a gripping motion and flexion of the user's wrist which makes it difficult to lift the lid without deviating from the horizontal plane. This often results in the material on the lid being spilled into the contents of the Dutch oven.